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4th consecutive monthly rise in new home sales: HIA

The Housing Industry Association reports an increase in new home sales for the fourth consecutive month this year based on a survey of Australia’s largest volume builders.

The latest HIA New Home Sales Report reveals that new homes sales have increased in each of the first four months of 2015, according to HIA Chief Economist, Harley Dale. Though the rise of 0.6 per cent in April was the slowest of the four months, it remains a strong result off the back of a healthy March quarter.

The April result for total seasonally adjusted new home sales comprised of two small gains: 0.4 per cent for detached house sales and 0.9 per cent for multi-unit sales.

According to Harley Dale, the profile for new home sales in 2015 is consistent with a new home building cycle where further upward momentum resides largely in the ‘multi-unit’ sector and further growth is driven by the eastern seaboard states.

Both NSW and Victoria have posted monthly gains in April in detached house sales (as did Western Australia), although Queensland recorded a disappointing decline. Sales in South Australia continued to weaken and are at an 18-month low. The two states to post gains in detached house sales over the three months to April 2015 were NSW and Victoria.

In April 2015 private detached house sales increased by 7.2 per cent in New South Wales, by 2.7 per cent in Victoria, and by 0.9 per cent in Western Australia. Private detached house sales dropped by 9.0 per cent in Queensland, and by 1.9 per cent in South Australia.

In the April 2015 ‘quarter’, detached house sales increased in NSW (+0.5 per cent) and Victoria (+7.4 per cent), but declined in SA (-4.7 per cent), Queensland (-4.4 per cent) and WA (-1.6 per cent).